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Made up of former members of Possession and Coven, Frost Like Ashes is one of the most promising extreme metal bands to come along in the last twelve months. This band is proof that it is possible to have something good come from Kansas. With this 25 minute EP, Pure as the Blood Covered Snow, Frost Like Ashes batters our skulls with five truly brutal songs of black/death metal. Three of the five songs here were on their 2002 demo, but that release wasn't really released to the general public, so this is basically all new songs.
The opening cut "Notions of Insanity" relentlessly attacks from the first second with a double bass barrage, grinding guitars, and sickening vocals that switch with ease from black shrieks, to deathly growls, to some extremely shrill screams. The vocalist here is the same as the one from Possession, so if you are familar with that band then you know I'm right about the quality of the vocals. "A Cruel Verse" follows with a Cradle of Filth type feel. I love the scream that Azahel does at the first of this song, right after the spoken intro. It gives ya chills the first time you hear it. No sooner does the scream end then the band blastbeats those chills right out of you. Next up, "Adorers of Blood" meticulously claws and scrapes at you with addictive power. I kinda switch back and forth with this song and "A Cruel Verse" over which one is my favorite. Next up, they do an extreme cover of Black Sabbath's "After Forever". If any of you remember the Deliverance version of this song, I personally like this version better. The finally track is a demo version of "Immortals". This song was the first song the band ever wrote. The production isn't as good as the other songs (hence the demo name), but it's still a cool song. The lyrics here ring clear, "How sweet it is not to fear death. And how sweet to know Truth." The lyrics aren't included in the one page booklet, but are available on the band's website. They are actually very good lyrics, so do yourself a favor and listen to this disc while reading along with the lyrics.
Overall, this disc is certainly worth the cash to obtain. I think that Frost Like Ashes is a very promising band. However, with the talent they have, I think they can make a much bigger impact than even this disc. I'm very interested to see how this band evolves. (Review by Matt)
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